Method for erecting a christmas tree



J 1965 J. c. BRENEMAN METHOD FOR ERECTING A CHRISTMAS TREE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 9, 1962 INVHVTOR. mm c BREA/[MAN BY MM 77% June 1965 J. c. BRENEMAN 3,191,266

METHOD FOR ERECTING A CHRISTMAS TREE Filed April 9, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I m u L :38 Z\v 2 3 W 59 I i 36: 42

2 INVENTOR. JAMES C. BRENEMAA/ June 29, 1965 J. c. BRENEMAN 3,191,266

METHOD FOR ERECTING A CHRISTMAS TREE Filed April 9, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

JAMES C. BREA/EMA/V i dmmzgm/ggm ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,191,266 METHOD FOR ERECTING A CHRISTMAS TREE James C. Breneman, Charleston Township, Kalamazoo County, Mich. (1.0571 Miller Drive, Galesburg, Mich.) Filed Apr. 9, 1962, Ser. No. 185,884 3 Claims. (Ci. 2915(l) This invention relates in general to a method for preparing and mounting a Christmas tree so that it will stand in an upright position.

For many years, especially near Christmas, millions of trees, such as small evergreens, have been cut down and mounted upon standards of many various types so that said trees could be placed as desired and decorated. However, in spite of the duration of this custom, several problems, which are frequently encountered in such usage, have continued to elude a satisfactory solution.

For example, it is widely known and generally accepted that even evergreens will soon shed their foilage indoors, unless they are set in water. Moreover, the unwatered trees quickly become dry and brittle, so that they are difficult to handle, unsightly in appearance and a serious fire hazard.

It is also very well known that the butts of Christmas trees vary considerably in size and shape. Thus, a standard which will fit one particular tree butt is frequently incapable eof fitting another tree butt, particularly where the standard includes some device for holding water around the butt. Furthermore, this type of standard is usually comparatively costly, which simply aggravates the problem. Thus, it is frequently necessary either to purchase a new standard for each tree, or to work for hours to shape the butt to the existing standard.

It is also well known that some tree butts are sufficiently distorted that they will not fit into standards of conventional types regardless of what is done. Moreover, even if an irregular butt can be somewhat reshaped to fit into the standard, the tree often slopes at an unsightly and precarious angle. Accordingly, many shapely Christmas trees are either incapable of use, because their butts cannot be adapted to available standards or when used they present an unsatisfactory, if not dangerous, condition. Much time has been wasted over the years, and severe losses have been sustained as a result of these problems.

Accordingly, a primary object of this invention has been the provision of a method whereby a small tree, such as an evergreen, can be mounted in an erect position regardless of the shape or size of its butt and can at the same time be arranged without difliculty or excessive cost so that the butt of the tree can continuously set in water.

Other objects and purposes of this invention will become apparent to persons familiar with this type of equipment upon reading the following descriptive material and examining the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE *1 is a side elevational view of a boring machine embodying the invention and including a broken line showing of the butt of a tree trunk.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of said boring machine.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along the line. IIIIII in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional View taken along the line IVIV in FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a broken sectional view taken along the line VV in FIGURE 2, and rotated 180.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VIVI in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VIIVII in FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIIIVIII in FIGURE 1.

' trunk which is placed upon the support member.

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view taken along the line IXIX in FIGURE 8.

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view taken along the line XX in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 11 is a side elevational view of a Christmas tree supported upon a standard embodying the invention.

FIGURE 12 is a broken, sectional view taken along the line XII-XII in FIGURE 11.

FIGURE 13 is a sectional view taken along the line XIIIXIII in FIGURE 11.

FIGURE 14 is an exploded, sectional view taken along the line XIVXIV in FIGURE 12.

FIGURE 15 is a fragmentary of FIGURE 14 showing an alternate arrangement.

For convenience in description, the terms upper, lower and words of similar import will have reference to the apparatus disclosing the invention in its normal position of use, as appearing in FIGURES 1 and 11. The terms inner, outer and derivatives thereof will have reference to the geometric center of said apparatus and parts associated therewith.

General description The objects and purposes of the invention, including those set forth above have been met by providing a method, whereby the butt of a Christmas tree is prepared so that the tree can be stood in an erect position with its butt continuously set in water. The method of the invention is best disclosed in terms of the apparatus by which the method can be practiced.

Specifically, the apparatus includes a boring machine having an upright frame structure with a horizontal support member near the upper end thereof. Power means is mounted upon the frame structure below the support member for vertical movement by a pedal-operated actuating mechanism supported upon the frame structure. A boring tool having cutting means at the upper axial end thereof is mounted upon the power means for rotation thereby and for movement therewith axially through a central opening in the support member. Thus, the boring tool can be forced upwardly by the actuating mechanism to form a cylindrical opening in the butt of a tree Adjustable guide means are mounted upon the support member so that they define a circle of adjustable size sub stantially concentric with said boring tool. The tree trunk is engaged and positioned by guide means prior to the boring operation. A standard has been especially designed for engagement of a tube member which is snugly received into the bored opening in the tree butt, whereby the tree can be firmly held in an upright position. The standard includes cup means for holding a supply of water or other fluid around the butt of the tree.

Detailed construction The boring machine it (FIGURES 1 and 2), which has been selected to illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, is comprised of an upright frame structure 11 having a base plate 12 at the lower end thereof and a flat, preferably circular support plate 13 located near the upper end thereof and substantially parallel with the base plate 12. The support plate 13 is mounted upon the upper ends of a pair of spaced, parallel and upright posts 14 and 15 which, in this embodiment, are outwardly opening channels. The posts 14 and 15 are preferably secured to the base plate 12 and to the support plate 13 by welding. The support plate 13 (FIGURE 1), which engages and supports the butt 18 of a tree, has a central, preferably circular opening 19 which is approximately midway between the upper ends of the posts 14 and 15.

A motor bracket 22 (FIGURES 1, 3 and 4) which is vertically slidably supported upon the inner side of the post 15,- includes an inwardly opening, vertical channel 23 which is arranged withits web 24 slidably engaging the web 26 of the post 15. The web 26 has an elongated, 7, vertical slot 27 which is aligned with a pair of bolt openings 28 in the web 26 through which the bolts 32 extend.'

A slide plate 34 is located adjacent the outer side of the web 26 and has bolt openings 36 which are alignable with from parallel with the support plate 13 and toward the post 14. A mounting angle 38 is secured to the web 24 of the channel 23 near the lower end thereof, by means of the lowermost bolt 32, so that said angle extends;

toward the post 14 directly beneath the mounting plate:

37. A prime mover, such as an" electric motor 39,'is I the motor shaft 42 is coaxial with the central opening 19.

A pair ofsprings 43' and 43a (FIGURE .3) extend lengthwise of postv 15 on opposite sides thereof adjacent the lengthwise edges of the channel 23. Spring 43 (FIG- URE 1) is connected at its upper end by the eyelet 44 to the upper end of.the post 15.. The lower end of the spring 43 is connected to the web 24 of the channel 23 adjacent the lower end thereof. The spring 43a is similarly mounted and both springs are continuously under tension, even when the channel 23 is in its fully raised position, as appearing in FIGURE 4. Accordingly, the springs 43 and 43a work against the pull of gravity upon the motor 39 and its supporting bracket 22, whereby the raising and lowering of the motor and bracket can be effected with a minimum of effort. j

i The actuating mechanism 46 (FIGURES -1 and 4) for raising. the motor 39 includes a pair of lever bars 47 and 48 which are pivotally supported approximately midway between the ends of each upon opposite sides of the post' 4' I are too many or toolarge to move conveniently along the outer surface 64 of the-body 66. The boring tool 58 is mounted upon the motor shaft 42 so that said tool can move upwardly through the central opening 19 (FIG- URE 4) when the motor 39 is raised into its uppermost position.

A guide mechanism 71 (FIGURES 1 and 2), which is mounted upon the support plate '13, includes three gripping members 72, 73 and 74. The gripping member 72, for example (FIGURES 1, 2, 6 and 10), is preferably a flat, rigid plate which extends downwardly through disposed slot 76 in the support plate 13. The lower end of the member 72 is pivotally supported by the pivot bolt 77 upon the pivot bracket 78 which is secured to .and'

extends downwardly from the lower surface of the support plate 13'. The pivot bolt 77 is arranged transversely of slot 76 so that the gripping member 72 can pivot toward and away from the center of the central opening 19.

The outer edge of the gripping member 72 (FIGURE 10) has anotch 79 into which the radially inner edge of the adjustment ring 81 is received. Said ring 81 is supported upon the upper surface of the support plate 13 and held concentric therewith, for rotational movement around the central opening 19 by the three bearing rollers 82. i The inner edge 84 of the adjustment ring 81 has three recesses 83, 83a and 83b which are'uniformly spaced and preferably identical in shape. The gripping members 72, 73 and 74 are simultaneously and similarly received into said recesses 83, 83a and'83b, respectively, which are shaped to serve as cams. That is, by rotating the ring 81 (FIGURE 2) in a counterclockwise direction, the gripping members are'simultaneously and uniformly moved toward the central opening'19'by the inwardly facing edges of the recesses in thering 81. Specifically, for example, theedge of recess 83 is received into the notch 79 of said gripping member 72 to effect pivotal movement of said member in response to rotational movement of the ring 81.

14 by the pivot rod 49 which extends through .said post 14. The inner ends of said bars 47 and 48 are pivotally connected by a pivot rod 52 to the pivot member 53 which is rigidly secured to the mounting angle 38 preferably .directly beneath the motor 39, The openings '54 and 55 in the pivot member 53 and the lever bars 47 and 48, respectively, are elongated to compensate for the differences in the paths of movement of the bars'47, 48

and the pivot member 53 during the raising and lower-v ing operation. The other ends of the bars ,47 and 48 are rigidly connected to a foot pedal 57.

The hollow, cylindrical boring tool 58 (FIGURES 4, 8 and 10) has a shaft opening 59 at the lower end thereof into which the motor shaft 42 is received and held by a set screw 62. The upper axial edge (FIGURES ,8 and 9) of the tool 58 has a plurality of integral teeth 63 which preferably project radially outwardly beyond the peripheral surface 64 of the body 66 of the boring tool '58 to provide an escape path for the chips produced by said teeth. A plurality, here four, of lengthwise slots 67 (FIG- URE 8) are provided in the upper end portion of the body 66, preferably at uniform intervals around thebody. Each slot 67 is an extension of the groove between a pair of'teeth 63 and extends downwardly. into said body a substantial distance below said teeth 63.

Four additional lengthwise slots 68 (FIGURE 8) are end of the body. Accordingly, chips created by the teeth 63 can be first moved downwardly along the slots 67 and thence downwardly along the slots 68, where they T heupper end of the gripping member 72 (FIGURE 10)sis urged radially outwardly with respect to adjustment ring 81 by a spring 86 which is connected between the pin 87 on the upper end of the grippingmember 72 and the pin 88 secured to the support plate 13 radially outwardly of the ring 81. Gripping teeth 89 project from the inner, gripping edge 91 of said gripping member 72 near the upper end thereof for'engagement with the butt 18 of a tree.

The gripping members 73 and 74 are similarly and pivotally supported upon the support plate 13 for movement toward and away from the central opening 19 therein. Said gripping members 73 and 74 are urged radially outwardly ofthe ring 81 by springs 86a and 86b. The grippingmemb'ers .73 and 74 are urged radially inwardly in the response to rotation of the ring'81, by the inner edges of the cam recesses 83a and'83b, respectively, in the ring 81. Although the gripping members 72, 73 and 74 are uniformly disposed around the central opening 19 in this embodiment, different spacing arrangements and different numbers of gripping members 72 may be used in the guide mechanism 71 within the scope of this invention. i'

Circular, adjusting movement of the ring 81 around the central opening 19 (FIGURE 2) is effected by an ad justment mechanism 92 (FIGURES 1, 2 and 5), which is connected between the ring 81 and a foot operated lever 93 pivotally mounted near one end thereof byzthe pivot pin. 94 upon the bracket 96 which is'secured to and extends upwardly from the base plate 12. The adjustment mechanism 92 includes a link bar 97 which is pivotally mounted near one end by means of the pivot post 98 upon the ring 81 for movement with respect thereto around a vertical axis. The other end of the linkbar 97 is connected by the pivot pin 191 to the-upright arm 99 of the crank 102. The support plate 13 has a slot 106 which is aligned with the lengthwise extent of the link bar 97 and through which the crank arm 99 extends. Said crank 102 is pivotally supported by the pin 103 upon the bracket 104 which is secured to and extends downwardly from the support plate 13 adjacent the slot 106.

The arm 108 (FIGURE 5) on the crank 102 is pivotally connected by the pin 109 with the upper end of the actuating bar 112, the lower end of which is pivotally secured by the pin 113 to the lever 93 between the ends thereof. A foot pedal 114 is secured to the free end of the lever 93.

A spring 116 (FIGURE 5) is secured at its opposite ends to, and is held under tension between, the crank arm 99 and a hook means 117 secured to and extending downwardly from the support plate 13, whereby said crank 102 is continuously urged in a counterclockwise direction, as appearing in FIGURE 5. Accordingly, the spring 116 operates through the crank 102 to urge the ring 81 into a position (FIGURE 2) where the gripping members 72, 73 and 74 are permitted to move under urging of the springs 86, 86a and 86b into their radially outermost positions. The spring 116 also acts through the actuating bar112 to hold the lever 93 and its pedal 114 in their raised positions of FIGURE 5.

The upward and downward movement of said actuating bar 112 (FIGURE 5) is guided by the guide bracket 118 which is supported upon the post 14. The outer edge and one side edge of the actuating bar 112 (FIGURE 7) are slidably engaged by portions of the bracket 118. The inner edge of the bar 112 has a plurality of adjacent, transverse grooves 119 into which the teeth 121 on the pawl 122 are receivable for preventing upward movement of the actuating bar 112 with respect to the guide bracket 118. The pawl 122 is pivotally supported by the pin 123 upon the guide bracket 118 and is urged in an upward direction by a spring 124 which is connected between the pawl 122, between the ends thereof, and a projection 126 on the bracket 118. A hand bar 127 extends sidewardly from the pawl 122 for manual engagement whereby the pawl 122 can be pivoted downwardly out of engagement with the actuating bar 112 so that the said bar 112 can move upwardly under the urging of the spring 116.

A junction box 128 is mounted upon the motor 39 and connected by a conduit 129 to a switch box 131 mounted upon the post 14 (FIGURE 1). The switch box 131 is in turn connected by a conduit 132 to any convenient source of electrical energy not shown.

A standard 136 for supporting a tree 137 (FIGURE 11) is comprised of an upwardly opening cup 138 which is supported by a pair of substantially V-shaped leg structures 139 and 140 (FIGURES 12 and 13). The cup 138 has a lower, socket or well portion 142 of reduced diameter into which a tube or pipe 143 is slidably and snugly received so that it cannot be moved or rocked laterally with respect to the cup 138. The tube 143 is of such size and shape that it can be slidably and snugly inserted into the cylindrical opening 144, which is cut into the butt 18 of the tree 137 by the boring tool 58. The tube 143 preferably has radially disposed openings 146 which are spaced from the lower end thereof a distance slightly greater than the depth of the well portion 142 of the cup 138, whereby fluid disposed within the upper portion of said cup 138 can flow through the tube 143 into the well portion 142.

The leg structure 139 is preferably fabricated from a metallic bar which is bent so that it has a central portion 147 curved to engage snugly the well portion 142 of the cup 138. The central portion 147 is preferably secured to the cup 138 by welding. Said leg structure 139 also has a pair of legs 148, 149 which extend radially away from the opposite ends of the central portion 147. The outer ends of the legs 148 and 149 are bent sidewardly and downwardly so that they lie substantially within a plane perpendicular to the central axis of the cup 138 and adjacent the bottom wall 153 thereof. In fact, the lower edges of the legs 148, 149 are preferably disposed within said plane.

The leg structure has a central portion 147a secured to the cup 138, and legs 148a, 149a which may be substantially the same as the corresponding parts of the leg structure 139. The legs 148, 14811, 149 and 149a are preferably arranged so that they are uniformly spaced around the cup 138. The bowl 154 at the upper end of the cup 138 has a plurality of radially disposed, upwardly projecting ridges 156 adjacent the well 142 for engaging the butt 18 of the tree 137 and thereby spacing same from the inner surface of the cup 138 so that liquid can flow into the well 142.

FIGURE 15 illustrates the application of the tube 143 to a tree butt 18a which is smaller in diameter than the outside diameter of the tube 143, hence of the boring tool 58. That is, the boring tool can provide a portion 161 of reduced diameter on the lower end of the butt 18a over which the tube 143 can be slid until it engages the shoulder 162. The snug fit of said reduced portion 161 into the tube 143 holds the butt 18a against lateral movement with respect to the tube 143, thereby preventing lateral movement of the butt 18a with respect to the cup 138 (FIGURE 14) into which the tube 143 is snugly received.

Operation With the boring machine 10 in its position of FIGURE 1, the teeth 63 of the boring tool 58 will be slightly below the upper surface of the support plate 13. Accordingly, the butt 18 of a tree can be rested upon the portion of the support plate 13 surrounding the central opening 19 therein. For the moment it will be assumed that the butt 18 has a diameter substantially larger than the diameter of the boring tool 58. The operator of the machine 10 places his foot upon the pedal 114 and depresses same whereby the gripping members 72, 73 and 74 are urged radially inwardly into engagement with the butt 18.

The guide mechanism, which includes said gripping members 72, 73 and '74, not only centers the butt 18 with respect to the rotational axis of the boring tool 58, but also grips the butt 18 and opposes both vertical and lateral movement thereof. The weight of the tree is generally more than adequate to oppose upward movement of the butt 18 during the succeeding operations. However, the teeth 89 on said gripping members also oppose such upward movement,

As the gripping members 72, 73 and 74 are moved into firm engagement with the sidewalls of the butt 18, the actuating bar 112 is moved downwardly along the pawl 122. At the end of such movement, the teeth 121 on said pawl 122 enter the grooves 119 on said bar 112 and thereby prevent upward movement of said bar 112, which movement would release the gripping members.

The switch 131 is now operated to energize the motor 39 and thereby effect rotation of the boring tool 58. The operator then places his foot upon the pedal 57 of the actuating mechanism 46 and urges it downwardly, whereby the motor bracket 22 and the motor 39 are moved upwardly. This causes the boring tool 58 to engage the bottom surface of the butt 18 and thereafter bore a cylindrical opening 144 (FIGURE 10) in the butt 18. Upon releasing the downward pressure upon the pedal 57, the motor 39 and the boring tool 58 mounted thereon move downwardly, whereby the boring tool 58 is withdrawn from the butt 18. The springs 43 and 43a not only reduce the amount of force required to raise the motor 39 and the boring tool 58, but also tend to retard the downward movement of said motor, in the event that the foot pedal 57 is abruptly released.

The guide mechanism 71 is released by manually engaging the bar 127 and moving the pawl 122 downwardly, against the contrary urging of the spring 124, away from the actuating bar 112. Accordingly, the actuating bar 112 is immediately urged upwardly by the spring 116. The spring 116 also returns the ring 81 into its FIGURE 2 position, wherein the springs 86, 86a and 86b are permitted to move the gripping members 72, 73 and 74,

'7 respectively, into their non-engaging positions of FIG- URE 2. The tree can nowbe raised away from the sup port plate 13 (FIGURE 1') and it will contains cylindrical opening 144 which is axially aligned with the lengthwise or vertical extent of the tree.

A tube or. pipe 143' is inserted into the butt 18' (FIG- URE 14) for immediate use or use at a later date. The axial length of the'cylindricalopening 144 can be accurately controlled. Thus, when the tube 143 is fully inserted into the opening 144, theamount of tube extending from the butt will preferably be about equal to'the depth of the well portion 142 of the cup 138. Thus, the lower end of the tube 143 can be slidably and snugly urged into the well 142 at the bottom of the cup 133 until the bottom of said tube 143 is substantially against the bottom wall 153 of said cup. The snug engagement of the tube 143 by the tree butt 18 and by the walls of the well portion 142 are such that lateral movement (including rocking) of the butt 18 with respect to the, cup 138 is effectively pre-, vented.

tus of the invention-permit such positioning of the tree by the standard 136, regardless of the-shape, size or other condition of the tree butt. i

The aboveprocedure forboring a cylindrical opening 144 in'the butt 18pand inserting a tube 143 in said cylindrical opening can be repeated easily'and quickly on a great many Christmas treesby any person capable of lifting theChristmas tree about two feet above the surface, such as a floor, supporting the machine 10; However, the machine 19 can be arrangedin a pit so that the support plate 13 is flush with the floor or ground, in which case substantial lifting of the tree would not be necessary. In fact, as a further variation, the boring machine of .the invention can be mounted so that. the, boring operation is performedalong a horizontal or sloping, as, opposed to a vertical, axis. In such case, the springs 43 and 434 would either be removed, or they would be arranged so that they would urge the motor bracket 22toward, instead'of away from,,the base p1ate12, as presently shown,

The boring machine 10 can be adapted for use in an, acceptable manner upon a tree butt 13a (FIGURE :15

having a diameter which is smallerthan the outside diameter of the boring tool, provided said tree butt is at least as large as the inside diameter of the boring tool; In such case, the boring tool simply reduces the diameter of the lower end 161 of the tree butt 18a so that itcan be] inserted into the tube 143 up to the shoulder 162. How-' ever, it may be necessary to raise the points at which the teeth 89* on the gripping members: 72, 73 and 74 engage Accordingly, when the tree standard 136 is I placed upona level surface, such as a floor, with the tree butt 18 mounted within saidstandard 13.6 by means of 8' tions ofsuch'disclosure, which come within the scope of the appended claims, are fully contemplated. Whatisclaimed-is: M

1. In. a method for mounting'a Christmas tree upon a standard having an upwardly opening cylindrical socket of I circularcross section, the steps including:

to i the butt 1811, if the guide mechanism 71" is used, to prevent engagement and damage of the teeth by the tool 58. After the tube 143 is sleevedupon'the'end 161 of the tree butt invention have been described above'for illustrative pur-" poses, it'willbe undertsood thatvariations or modificaholding the-butt of the tree in a fixed position; a

7 cutting anannular slot; into thebutt of the tree and for a selected distance lengthwise of said tree, the outside diameter of saidv slot substantially equal to the inside diameter of the. socket; I

, inserting into said slot one end ofa pipe having inside and outside diameters substantially equal to the inside and outside diameters of said slot, said pipe having a length substantially equal to the combined, axial 'lengthof said slot and the socket in the stand: ard; and V p p inserting the'other end of'said pipe into said socket. 2. In a method for mounting a Christmas tree upon a standard having an upwardly opening cylindrical socket of 7 circular-cross section, the steps including:

holding the butt of the tree in a fixed position;

cutting the butt of the tree toform-th'ereon a cylindrical end portion extending a selected distance along and axially parallel with the lengthwise extent of said tree;

, inserting said end portionof said butt'into one end of I apipe having an inside diameter equal to the diameter of said end, portion' and having an outside diameter equal to the inside diameter of the socket, said pipe having a length substantially in excess of the axial length of said cylindrical end portion or the t Y socket in the standard; and

.' inserting the other end. of said pipe into saidsocket.

3. In a method for'supportinga Christmas tree in a substantially upright position upon'a sidewardly projecting, ground engaging base havin'g'a cylindrical, socket,

the steps including:-

, holding the butt of the tree in a fixed position;

. cutting an annular slotinto the butt of the tree, said slot extending substantially axially parallel with the lengthwise extent-of saidftreefor a=selected distance lengthwise of the butt; 1

;' inserting'into said slotin said butt one end of an elongated tubular element having inside and outside diameters substantially'equal to the inside and outside diameters of; theslot in ,therbutt, the other end a of said element having a diameter equal tothe diam eterof said'socket; and v v insertingthe'other end of said elongated element into the'spcket of said "base so that the ground engaging a portion. thereof substantially defines a plane perpen- -dicular to the lengthwise extent of said tree along 'the'lowermost end of said base.

i l leferences Cited hythe Examiner UNITED'STATES PATENTS" WHITMORE A. W ILTZ, Primary Examiner.

CLAUDEA. LEROYITHOMAS H. EAGER,

1 1 Examiners.- 

1. IN A METHOD FOR MOUNTING A CHRISTMAS TREE UPON A STANDARD HAVING AN UPWARDLY OPENING CYLINDRICAL SOCKET OF CIRCULAR CROSS SECTION, THE STEPS INCLUDING: HOLDING THE BUTT OF THE TREE IN A FIXED POSITION; CUTTING AN ANNULAR SOLT INTO THE BUTT OF THE TREE AND FOR A SELECTED DISTANCE LENGTHWISE OF SAID TREE, THE OUTSIDE DIAMETER OF SAID SLOT SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE INSIDE DIAMETER OF THE SOCKET; INSERTING INTO SAID SLOT ONE END OF A PIPE HAVING INSIDE AND OUTSIDE DIAMETERS SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE DIAMETERS OF SAID SLOT, SAID PIPE HAVING A LENGTH SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE COMBINED, AXIAL LENGTH OF SAID SLOT AND THE SOCKET IN THE STANDARD; AND INSERTING THE OTHER END OF SAID PIPE INTO SAID SOCKET. 